From Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, and Shah Rukh Khan to Jackie Shroff, many stars have seen poverty and grown up to lead a luxurious lifestyle and rule Bollywood with their films. Another such star, who once worked as a tailor, is now worth crores.

The star we are talking about is one of the most successful directors and producers in Bollywood, who is known for his extravagant, aesthetic film sets. He is someone every actor wants to work with once. He is none other than Sanjay Leela Bhansali. 

Sanjay Leela Bhansali now a big name in Bollywood, has given some iconic films like Devdas, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Khamoshi, and more. However, very few know that he was poverty-stricken during his childhood. He revealed in an interview earlier, how he used to live in a one-bedroom chawl with his family during his childhood.

The filmmaker said, “From the lack of beauty in my growing years, in my formative years. We lived in a very poor house. We had no paint on the walls. Mom was a wonderful dancer, so she would dance in that small (space). We didn’t have good clothes to wear. So, there were a lot of things that I felt deprived of as a child, and my mind was always a filmmaker’s mind. When I was sitting and doing homework as a child, I would wonder what colour should the wall be. My mind was preoccupied with finding beauty in that lack of beauty, or lack of space. My sets are humungous because of that. We were all crammed into… Almost breathing onto each other.”

In a 2002 interview with Simi Garewal, Sanjay and his mother recalled what they did to make ends meet and revealed they would collect sarees from a nearby shop and stitch falls onto them. The filmmaker said, “Shaam ko jaake sarees leke aate the hum dukan se aur raat tak baith ke fall lagate the. Kabhi 4 saree milti thi, kabhi 12 saree milti thi, kabhi 24 saree milti thi so that was there, we had to face it (We would go to a nearby saree shop and get sarees from there in the evening, and stitch falls onto them until late night. Sometime we would get 4 sarees, sometimes 1, and sometimes 24).” 

The filmmaker started his career as an assistant director under Vidhu Vinod Chopra and later went on to make his Bollywood debut as a director with Khamoshi: The Musical which starred Salman Khan. The film was a major success and earned him reocgnition. He then made Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Salman Khan and it was not only a hit but won National Award too. 

In the span of his career, he has given four films that grossed over Rs 200 crore, Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela (Rs 218 crore worldwide), Padmaavat (Rs 585 crore), Bajirao Mastani (Rs 362 crore), Gangubai Kathiawadi (Rs 211 crore) and has also produced several hit films. He now reportedly has a net worth of Rs 940 crore. 

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is all set to make his OTT debut with Heeramandi. The series stars Richa Chadha, Manisha Koirala, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal, Sonakshi Sinha, and Sanjeeda Shaikh along with Fardeen Khan, Adhyayan Suman, and Shekhar Suman in key roles. The series is scheduled to release on Netflix on May 1.

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